A vast portion of Russia is only conditionally inhabited. The harsh climate and permafrost have created a natural barrier to humans, preserving millions of kilometers in their pristine state. This project explores places where population density approaches zero and where the power of the elements begins to assert itself.
Krasnoyarsk Krai
Among the three selected regions, the population density is «highest, ” but this is an illusion created by the southern cities. The main part of the region is vast, remote taiga and the rugged Putorana Plateau. It is a region of contrast, where civilization abruptly ends, and a zone begins where human presence is only a temporary and very rare guest, lost among great rivers and forests.
Magadan Region
The Magadan region is a land of severe mountains, Kolyma trails, and fog. While in Krasnoyarsk, a person might still try to debate the scale, here nature reasserts its dominance. The mountains and the frost monumentally overshadow any traces of human activity, leaving behind only a resonant silence.
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
The final project focuses on a region with extremely low, almost zero population density. Chukotka is a place where human influence is physically absent. The panorama of Chukotka resembles Earth before humanity: endless tundra, ocean, and permafrost existing by their own laws.
